The Culpa Demon
by somefangirl
Summary: The Exwires are sent on a simple mission to exorcise the Cupla Demon: a demon that feeds off of guilt. When it takes on the form of Shiro, Rin is left blaming himself for his fathers death while Yukio and the Exwires are left wondering: "Who is Shiro, and what happened the night he died?" No pairings.
1. To the Monastery!

**Author's note at the bottom**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own (Blue / Ao no) Exorcist. **

**The idea for this story came from a guest reviewer**

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_This is set between the Kyoto arc and the 7 Mysteries of True Cross_

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"Are we there yet?" Rin complained, for nearly the 23rd time that trip.

"_No_, Nii-san, we _still_ are not there yet." replied his brother, who was very much done with his twin's whining.

"Okumura-sensei, the demon we are supposed to exorcise, what was it again?" asked Konekomaru, who was sitting two seats behind Yukio. Yukio, who was glad to have a distraction from the whining brother to his right, answered

"We believe it's a Culpa* demon" he said

"Culpa demon?"

"It's a demon that feeds off guilt. It usually appears to you as someone or something you feel guilty about, and tries to make your guilt even worse. It feeds off of this guilt and, if you feel badly enough, can actually consume your soul" explained Yukio "we are stopping by a nearby cemetary, where it has been spotted, so we can exorcise it"

"What cemetary is it?" asked Sheimi. The whole bus, which contained all the Exwires and Yukio, was listening to the conversation.

"The one by the Southern Cross Boys' Monestary" Yukio replied. Rin turned to Yukio, mouth wide open.

"Wait, what? You never said we were stopping home!" he yelled.

"Home?" asked Sheimi, mildly lost. She was ignored.

"Actually, I did. Twice." Yukio deadpanned**.

"But-"

"You just weren't listening"

"What do you mean 'home'?" Sheimi asked again. Yukio turned to face her.

"Nii-san and I grew up there" he said.

"You guys grew up in a monestary?" Ryuji joined in the conversation

"Yeah, why?" Rin asked

"Well, with you bein' the Son of-... Well, I would think someone raised in a monestary would be more, I dunno, cultured?" Ryuji replied. If anyone heard what he had been about to say, they didn't let on.

"What's that supposed to mean, 'cultured'?" Rin asked

"It means you're an idiot" Yukio said

"You guys are so mean!" Rin yelled, faking to be offended. Everyone laughed, and the bus ride went back to relative silence for the next few minutes, everyone having their own conversations.

"Hey, um, Yukio?" Rin asked, turning away from the window he had been looking out of before

"Yes?"

"Are we there yet?"

"_No_"

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*"Culpa" is "guilt" in Latin. Culpa demon isn't a real thing, I just made up a demon name using guilt in another language and thought it sounded cool. Just figured it was worth mentioning...

**did I use that word right?

***I wasn't sure if I should call him Bon, Ryuji or Suguro, but I decided on Ryuji

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**I have more written, so if you want more updates I have some for the next few days. So follow, favorite, review or even PM me. Let me know if I should continue this (probably will)!**

**ok, this needs to be said: THIS STORY WAS NOT MY ORIGINAL IDEA**

**i wrote another story called "Shiro Was There" and someone asked me to write this**

**Anonymous Fan, it's Lew-chan here, and I say: challenge accepted!**

**i just love your idea, it's great and I'm so glad you asked me to write it out for you. I feel so special. **

**-the author, Lew-chan :D**


	2. The demon makes an appearance!

**i kind of, maybe, possibly, sort of forgot to add this part to the last chapter... hehe, um, oops? (gimme a break, this is only my second fanfic)**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist / Ao no Exorcist **

**I was given the idea for this story by someone else**

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When they eventually arrived at the cemetary, they decided to split up into pairs to search for the demon. Rin was partnered with Ryuji, Sheimi with Izumo, and Konekomaru with Shima. Rin knew exactly where he was going to head first. Without warning Ryuji, he took off. Running through the many, many headstones, he arrived at a cross-shaped grave. Written on it was the name _Shiro Fujimoto_. He stood by it in silence, until eventually Ryuji caught up to him.

"Oi Okumura, what did you ru-" he stopped talking when he noticed Rin was standing by the tombstone. "Did you know 'em?" he asked

"Yeah, he... I knew him" Rin said. He decided not to explain, because he could do that later. Right now, he just wanted to see his dad.

"You, um, want a moment?" Ryuji asked

"Yeah, you start looking, I'll catch up" Ryuji walked off, leaving Rin alone and in silence. The last time he had been here, he'd decided to become an exorcist. That was months ago. Shiro had died months ago. Rin let that information sink in. Months... Rin missed him. He wished he could see his dad, just one more time...

"Hello Rin. I see you've returned*" said a voice. Rin truned around to face the owner of the voice, and nearly fainted.

"O-old man!?" he spluttered. He couldn't believe that Shiro was actually standing in front of him.

"Yep, that's me" he said. Rin could almost cry. He wanted to hug his dad, and tell him that he missed him, and ask him why he was here and so many other things but he was too shocked that he was there to do anything but stare. Rin was about to say something, anyting, when Shiro spoke up

"It's your fault, you know" he said. Rin's train of thought abrubtly stopped

"Huh?"

"It's your fault" Shiro said again

"What is?" Rin asked

"_That I died_"

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*In the translation of the manga I read, this is the first thing Shiro says in the entire manga. I figured "Why not?" and put that as the first thing the demon impersonating him says, cuz ya know... refrences...

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**so yea, it's short, BUT it was supposed to be in the first chapter and I do have more (lots more) ready for tomorrow (cuz I plan on updating tomorrow). I promise tomorrow will be a longer chapter than this pathetic little thing**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	3. It's all your fault!

**Chapter 3 is up! Yay!**

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**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ao no Exorcist / Blue Exorcist**

**The idea for this story was given to me by a guest reviewer**

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Ryuji was exploring the cemetery. The whole place was creepy, and knowing that something could actually come out and eat your soul didn't help the atmosphere. The few grey clouds overhead didn't help too much either. Ryuji looked back at Rin, and found him to be talking to an older-looking man with white hair and glasses, who wore a priest's uniform. Ryuji didn't know who it was, but figured that he must've been from the Monastery near the cemetery. The Okumura's did say that was where they grew up. Ryuji made his way over to Yukio, who was walking around a few yards away from him, in the opposite direction of Rin.

"Hi Ryu-. Hey, where's Rin?" asked the young teacher

"Over there by that gravestone, talkin' to some priest guy" he replied, pointing in Rin's general direction

"Priest guy...?" Yukio looked up from the area he had been searching, over to where Ryuji was pointing. His eyes widened, and he looked Ryuji in the eyes

"Ryuji, I found the demon"

"You did?" he asked, wide eyed "Where?" he looked all around

"Gather the other Exwires, we are going to need them" Yukio said, ignoring Ryuji's question completely

"Where is the demon?" he asked again

"Do you see the man Rin is talking to?" Yukio asked

"Well, yeah. Kinda hard to miss 'em" Ryuji said, annoyed with the fact Yukio was, once again, dodging the question

"He's dead"

_Silence_...

"... I'll get the others"

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"It's my fault?" Rin said.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd still be alive" 'Shiro' relpied calmly

"What do you-" Rin was cut off

"I was able to avoid possession for _15 years,_ Rin, do you really think I'd just _let_ Satan in? Someone had to say something to break my wall. That someone was _you_" 'Shiro' said

"What did I-" Rin was cut off again

"'_Don't let me ever see you acting like my father again!_' That's what you said, wasn't it?" 'Shiro' asked, mockingly

"I-" Rin kept tring to argue, but 'Shiro' wouldn't let him

"Well?" he demanded

"...Yes" Rin admitted "but I didn't-"

"And that's why I was possessed. It's your fault, Rin" said 'Shiro'

"But I-"

"No buts!" Shiro yelled "Oh! It doesn't end there, either" he continued "Don't you remember? I stabbed myself in the heart for you. Or did you forget already?"

"No, I..." Rin stopped talking

"You opened the sword, too." 'Shiro' noted "You aren't even human anymore"

"I thought I could..." Rin didn't feel the need to argue any more.

"It's your fault, Rin. It's your fault" 'Shiro' repeated this phrase over and over "Yukio said so too, remember? Even he blames you. All of us do" he said "Because it's. Your. Fault." he punctuated the words, to rub it in to the demon boy. Rin didn't even feel the need to argue anymore as the demon's words really set in. Shiro was right. It really was his fault. Rin fell to his knees in despair, tears in his eyes. His head fell into his hands. It was his fault. _It was all his fault..._

The demon smiled, well, demonically, looming over the raven-haired boy.

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**Yay, cliffhanger-ish ending! I'm really happy today... Well, I said I'd put something up today, didn't I? And I did, so that's good. I'm supposed to be doing math homework right now... but this is more important! **

**So yea, I should have another chapter up tomorrow too, so that'll be good.**

**Read and Review? Please?**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	4. Who is Shiro? The Exwires want to know!

**Disclaimer: I don't own it**

**the story idea was given to me**

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Ryuji and Yukio quickly gathered up all the Exwires, who all met in hiding behind gravestones nearby Rin and the demon.

"Okumura-sensei?" Konekomaru turned to the Okumura "Who is that?"

"The demon" Yukio replied. They had decided, since they didn't actually know the demon's fatal verse, only the section it was in, all the Arias would recite verses until they hit the one. Then the girls and Shima would try to protect the Arias if the demon turned it's attack on them. Yukio, meanwhile, would go get Rin and snap him out of the demon's spell.

"I know that, but who is the demon supposed to be?" Ryuji asked, wondering the same thing as his friend "Some sort of preist?"

"Isn't that your dad, Yuki-can?" Sheimi asked. The other Exwires panicked.

"Your dad!? As in _Satan_?!" Shima yelled

"Why is he here?!" Ryuji yelled. Izumo was completely pale and Konekomaru looked close to hyperventelating.

"To clearify, not Satan, the demon is immitaing our _adoptive_ father, Shiro Fujimoto" Yukio said. The Exwires stopped panicking. Ryuji remembered something:

"Didn't you say that man over there is dead?"

"Shiro is dead. He died a few months ago, just before we came to True Cross" Yukio said "that demon took his form. Now we should really exorcise it before-" just as he said that, Rin fell to his knees. He demon loomed above him, an evil smile on his face "Rin!" Yukio yelled. The plan was immediatly set into motion, and the Arias began chanting while their classmates stood in front of them protectively. Yukio started running to his brother when the demon noticed the group. It began hurridly whispering to Rin. Speaking of Rin, the half-demon was on his knees and in tears, his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block out 'Shiro's' words. In his eyes, though, you could see a grim and sad acceptance, as though he believed the demon's words. Yukio noticed this, too, and panicked. The Culpa could actually eat his brother's soul.

"Rin!" he yelled. Rin didn't seem to hear him, he was solely focused on 'Shiro' "RIN!" he yelled again, louder than the first time. This got a quick glance from the older Okumura, but he was right back to listening to the demon in a second. Rin appeared to be muttering something, which Yukio was too far away to hear.

"Rin! That's the demon! Whatever it's saying, don't listen!" he yelled. Though he could've been yelling at a wall for all the good it did. He continued yelling for his brother to snap out of it, and eventually the demon turned on him. Before it could say anything, though, Yukio drew his pistols and shot at it, clipping its ear and it's chin. It was a weird expierience to shoot your father in the face, but he just had to keep reminding himself this was a demon and not the Shiro he knew. The demon snapped it's attention to the Arias; one of them was clearly reciting it's verse.

"Cursed exorcist!" it yelled "I'll destroy you and your foul tongue!" it began running towards Ryuji, who was apparently the one saying the right verse. As it was distracted, Yukio ran to his brother

"Rin! Rin, are you alright?" he asked, kneeling next to his twin

"It's all my fault... It's all my fault..." Rin kept repeating the phrase over and over like a mantra.

"Rin?" Yukio shook his brother's shoulders "Rin? Snap out of it. Are you all right?" Rin kept muttering over and over, completely disregarding the younger twin's concern. Yukio concluded they would that they would probably have to get rid of the demon before Rin would be able to hear truly them. The demon had Rin under it's spell, the only way to revese it seemed to be to get rid of the source. Prying himself away from his guilt-ridden brother, he reloaded his pistols and charged the demon. He was having a hard time shooting his father, he kept hesitating and missing. '_Damn it Yukio! This isn't father! This is a demon pretending to be him!_' He kept trying to tell himself. '_This is for Nii-san. You promised father you would protect him, and you can't do that if you can't even hurt them demon hurting him_' he reminded himself. With that thought in mind, Yukio shot the demon directly in the face. As the bullet pierced it's skin, Ryuji finished the demon's verse, sending it back to Gehenna.

"Is everyone alright?" Sheimi yelled. There was a choir of responses, all meaning "yes" coming from the Exwires, but Yukio didn't hear his brother's voice.

"Rin?" he called. He looked over at his brother, who was no longer in a trance but was still on his knees. He looked to be trying to dry his tears. "Nii-san? Are you alright?" he yelled to the older Okumura, who looked over at him and nodded.

"I'm f-fine" he said, trying not to sniffle. Everyone stood (or, in Rin's case, kneeled) in silence, until Ryuji, albit a little akwardly, suggested they head back to the bus. The ride back to the academy was nearly completely silent, leaving the other Exwires to wonder "Who exactly is Shiro, and what happened the day he died?"

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**Yay! new chapter! I'm pretty sure this one is my longest one yet**

**It's still really small tho...**

**Well, I TRIED**

**I apologize the fight against the demon was kind of pathetic. I never said it was supposed to be a strong demon**

**I also suck at writing fight scenes...**

**so The Black Blue Cat, how did I do on the Yukio/emotion thing? I think I did ok, and I did say I would try, so... it's something (btw Japan sounds like lots of fun, and your a lot of fun to talk to!)**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	5. The Exwires investigate!

**Disclaimer: how many times do I have to say it?**

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After they returned to True Cross and everyone retreated to their dorms, the Kyoto Trio started talking.

"Hey guys, wasn't Shiro Fujimoto the name of the previous paladin?" Konekomaru asked his friends (**AN: Ok, I refuse to believe that, with how smart Konekomaru and Ryuji are, that they wouldn't know ****_at least_**** the name of the previous paladin. A person can't study exorcism and not know a few famous exorcists, you know?**)

"Actually, I think it was..." Ryuji started, "Know what, I think you're right. The previous paladin was named Shiro Fujimoto"

"Are you trying to say the Okumura's were raised by the paladin?" Shima asked

"No, just that they have the same name, at least." Konekomaru said

"Didn't Moriyama-san ask if he was Okumura-sensei's father?" Konekomaru asked

"Well, yeah, but we already know he's their adoptive dad." Shima said

"Well, if she knew that, wouldn't that mean she had to have met him?" Konekomaru half-asked, half-pointed out.

"Maybe. Her family does own the exorcism supply shop." Ryuji stated

"Should we ask her if she knew him?" Konekomaru asked

"Does anyone have her number? I could ask" Shima volenteered

"Even if I had her number, I wouldn't give it to you" Ryuji said flatly

"You wound me!" Shima yelled, putting his hand in mock offense.

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"Rin and Yuki-chan's dad?" Sheimi asked

"Yeah, have you met him?" Ryuji questioned

"Yes, he used to come by our shop to restock. He brought Yukio with him one time" she replied with a smile. She seemed to be recalling the memory.

"Do you..." Konekomaru ventured "have any idea how he..."

"Died?" Ryuji finished

"No. I heard about it from Yuki-chan" she said. "Why?"

"We want to know who he was" Ryuji replied

"And what happened to him" Konekomaru added

"You think Yukio would know?" Asked Shima

"Do you think I would know what?" Yukio asked, walking into the room.

"What, ummm..." Konekomaru started

"Happened to your father?" Ryuji finished. Yukio sighed.

"To tell the truth, I don't really know. All I know for sure is he was killed by Satan." Yukio explained. He left out the part about it being the night Rin discovered his heritage, and drawing the sword. "I don't know the details"

"Seriously? Does anyone know?" Shima asked, exasperated.

"Only one person was there the night he died" Yukio said.

"Who?" Ryuji asked

"Rin"

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**Ok, so, it's much shorter than the last one but, well, I wrote this pretty fast so I could get it to u guys. So yeah... Cliffhangerish ending again!**

**i love ending chaps like that...**

**- Lew-chan :D **


	6. Angst!

**This chapter is rated T 'cuz I cursed in it twice and I'm paranoid**

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**Disclaimer: I. OWN. ****_NOTHING._**

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Rin felt like shit the whole bus ride home. He tried, so desprately he tried to not let the demon's words bother him. But, it didn't work. Was it really his fault? Did Shiro die because of him?

'_Yes_'

The answer was involentary, but instantanious. It was, without a doubt, true. Shiro died because of him. And so, it was his fault. Simple as that. As much as Rin wanted to put it out of his mind the way he did before, he couldn't. He blamed Satan and swore revenge, but in truth, it was his fault. There was no more blaming Satan, for it wasn't his fault. It was no one's fault but his own. Yukio had said it was his fault too. Rin was just an idiot, so he was the only one who didn't notice. It was _all his fault_. If he had listened to his father, if he had listened to Shiro, he wouldn't have died. But he ignored all his _perfectly reasonable_ explainations on why no one had ever told him about his heritage and _yelled at him_. All Shiro had ever done was try to help and protect him, and he got mad at him for it. He died protecting Rin's sorry ass 'till the end. And the last thing he said to Shiro, while he was still Shiro, was "_Don't ever let me see you acting like my father again!_" His dad was such a great person. Rin didn't deserve to be raised by someone like him. He was the _Son of Satan_ for crying out loud! Why did Shiro care about him? Why did _anyone_ _ever_ care about him?

He looked around the bus, to his friends around him. Satan had targeted Shiro because Shiro was close to him. Would he target his friends too? Would more people die because of him? Rin couldn't bare to think about that. But he did. He thought about it, hating Satan more and more with each disturbing image that surfaced in his mind. He hated himself even more with each thought as well. '_It would be all my fault_' He kept thinking.

Rin was so lost in his self-hate he didn't notice they had arrived at True Cross. Only when Yukio finally poked him for the twelth time did he notice they were there. Without a word, ignoring the concerned looks from his friends,* he got off the bus. When he got back to his dorm, he went directly to sleep.

His dreams only worsened the new information which he had accepted.

_**It's all my fault.**_

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*I was _so_ tempted to write nakama here it isn't even funny. Just thought you should know...

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**Ok, so it's a short chapter, I know, but I wanted to get it in for 2 reasons**

**1) I wanted more guilty Rin angst. I wanted to write about Rin's thoughts the bus ride home**

**2) All my friends (shoutout to my nakama! HI GUYS!) wanted to know how the Exwires would react to the new info. So, to piss them off (and troll all of my wonderful fans), I decided to push off the reactions to another day!**

**Also an unimportant and unrelated note: in order to write this chapter, I had to listen to "One Day" which is the 13th One Piece opening. I usually can't listen to that song 'cuz it makes me sad, but I decided it would be good to listen to it while trying to write this. (tho I don't suggest listening to it while reading this, it doesn't really fit. It just makes _me_ depressed) So yea, I even had sad music playing in the background while writing this so hopefully, I did the angst well. **

**Also, someone mentioned the priests were there during the scene where Shiro died, and, well 1) I forgot and 2) this is based off the manga, I don't thin they were there in the manga (even if they were, for the sake of the story we're gonna pretend they weren't, k?)**

**Wow, my AN is almost as long as the chapter... That's kind of pathetic on my part... Oh well :D**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	7. Mrph!

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING  
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

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"So Shiro was murdered by Satan, Rin was the only one there, and Rin feels some sort of guilt over whatever happened that night..." Ryuji concluded.

"Can I ask why you want to know?" Yukio asked

"We want to know what happened to Shiro, especially if Rin feels so bad about it" he replied.

"So if we want to know, we have to ask Rin" Konekomaru said. "By the way, where is he?"

"Nii-san still isn't over whatever that demon said to him" Yukio said "he decided to stay home with Kuro"

"So then we have to wait until after class to ask him..." Konekomaru said

"Why don't we just go now" Izumo said "I mean, I'm sure you would want to know what happened then too, right Okumura-sensei? So we could all just go figure it out now"

"Could we, Okumura-sensei?"

"Yeah, could we Yuki-chan?" The Exwires began begging like little children to go visit their half-demon friend. Yukio, also curious (plus he would be a bad brother if he said "no" now), relented.

"Come on guys, let's go visit Nii-san."

'_Rin? Hello? Wake up, Rin_' Kuro poked at his friend.

"Mrph" he replied, face in a pillow.

'_Rin. You've been laying in bed all day. Come on, let's do something_'

"Furrrf" he replied with another incohorrent response. Kuro was not amused. He huffed and jumped off his friend to sit on the window sill. Looking out, he was surprised to see a group of people approaching in the distance.

'_Hey Rin, some people are coming in the distance. Are you expecting someone?_'

"Urgh- people?" Rin asked

'_Yeah. It looks like... your friends from cram-school. Yukio too._' Kuro said

"Huh?" Rin looked out the window. It really was his friends. But... why?

'_They're probably here to get you out of bed_' Kuro said jokeingly.

"It wouldn't take a whole crowd of people to get me out of bed" Rin replied

'_With how deep you sleep, you can never be sure_'

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**So um, yea. I wasn't sure wether to just post the first scene today and then the second scene tomorrow with another scene after it but I decided yesterday was kind of pathetic so you get two scenes today and I don't know about tomorrow**

**Well, here's a question: How do you think the Exwires should get Rin to tell about the death of Shiro? Cuz I'm kind of at an impasse here and I really have no idea what to put for this.**

**So review or PM me (I love PMs, just sayin') on how you think they could get it out of him. There are no bad ideas. So how do you think they could get it out of him? I can do the reactions and all that, just how they get it out of him is what I need.**

**Thank you for reading thus far!**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	8. To the dorms! Rin plans escape?

**Disclaimer: You know**

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The old dorms still creeped out the Exwires. You wouldn't think that exorcists would be afraid of an old building, but, oh well, you're wrong.

"I still can't believe you guys actually live here" said Shima

"It gives me the creeps" said Izumo. There was a mummer of agreement throughout the group.

"Hey, in the window up there. Is that Rin?" Konekomaru pointed to one of the many windows, from which the half-awake half-demon could be seen.

"I guess that saves us the trouble of finding him" Ryuji says.

"And waking him up" Yukio adds, sighing with relief. He gets a few odd looks from the Exwires. "Trust me, it's harder than you think"

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'_Rin?_' Kuro kept poking his friend, who continued to stare out the window. Rin was pretty much convinced they were here because of the Culpa Demon incident (not like there were many other reasons). They were probably going to ask all about everything from that night, which is something he didn't want them to know. It wasn't exactly something one would go around telling people anyway, but it was his cross to bear. He didn't want them to know what happened. And how the his friends even react? He had just gotten them all to stop being scared of him. If they knew the death of his adoptive father was his fault, would they just get scared of him again? He didn't want that. He finally had friends, he didn't want to lose them. When Konekomaru pointed to the window he was looking out and his friends all noticed him in the window is when he fianlly pried himself away from the window. He needed to think of a way out of this. He knew secrets bugged Ryuji, and Yukio probably had a right to know what happened, but he just _couldn't_ make himself even _think_ about telling any of them.

So, it looked like Rin would need to escape.

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**So, you remember how I mentioned that the idea for this story was given to me by a guest reviewer?**

**Well, they finally let me know how I was doing, and I can finally say this story is a success in my book. They said I was doing super, and I nearly cried tears of joy. **

**So I have succeeded, and yeah. **

**Happiness!**

**Also, thank you to anyone who gave any suggestions on how the Exwires should get the info from Rin, THANK YOU. YOU ARE VERY HELPFUL PEOPLE AND YOU ARE AWESOME. DON'T LET ANYONE EVER TELL YOU OTHERWISE.**

**EVER.**

**So yeah...**

**(my whole Author's Note is centered just because it looks cooler. Pay it no mind)**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	9. And then what happened?

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING**

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**I KNOW this is a day late, but I was working extra hard. Plus, I had a real-life stuff to do. having a life always seems to get in the way, huh? Well, i hope this was worth waiting an extra day:**

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'_Rin, you can't just run away from your problems_' Kuro tried to reason with the boy, but it didn't really work.

"And why not? It's easier than..." _facing them_. He finished mentally.

'_Besides, unless you plan on jumping out a window, there is only the front entrance. They'll see you for sure_' Kuro said. Rin pondered this for a bit, before remembering the key to cram school. All the others were coming here (except Takara, but he probably wouldn't care of Rin showed up. Creepy puppet dude), so no one would be in the classroom. Kuro seemed to figure out what he was thinking about doing, so there was a mad dash between demon and half-demon to reach the key. Kuro managed to get them before Rin. Holding the key in his mouth, he said '_You can't just run away from your problems, Rin!_' Before ignoring the advice he _just gave_ and running away. '_Talk to them!_' he called from the hall. Rin knew _someone_ was a hypocrite, but he was back to planning. Maybe he could make the jump from up here? Demons healed pretty fast, so in theory... But he realized, while looking out the window and trying to judge wether or not he could make the jump and land in one piece, that could hear what the Exwores were talking about now. He caught things like "Shiro" and "night" and "death" and "what happened?" They apparently wanted to know what had happened the night of Shiro's death. Now Rin knew his suspicions on why they were here were confirmed, He thought, hoped actually, that they were maybe just here to cheer him up from the encounter with the Culpa. But no, they were in fact here to shake the secret of Shiro's death out of him. They would probably think he was a monster again, Rin realized. Someone had died because of him. He didn't want them to be scared of him again, and he certainly didn't want them to know any of that. This was something he would prefer to take to the grave. But if he didn't figure out a way out now, then his friends would find out everything and probably hate him and be scared of him and Yukio would probably blame him and be mad at him and soon he'd be alone. Again.

No, Rin _needed_ to escape.

* * *

"Come on guys, walk faster. Everyone knows the plan?" Yukio asked. A chorus of 'yes' answered his question. They'd decided to just go in and badger him and question him until he finally told them what happened. And they weren't going to leave him until he did. If all else failed, Yukio would remind his brother he had a right to know how their father died, and he'd probably tell them. So the Exwires walked to the room shared by the twins. When they weren't far from the door, Rin walked out, then saw the group and panicked.

"Rin, calm down, we just wanna talk to ya" Ryuji said. This only seemed to make the demon's panic worse, as he began scanning the hallway as though looking for something. Probably an escape route. Yukio realized this first and told his brother there was no avoiding this talk.

"Nii-san, we really need to talk about this. Go back into the room and sit down." Rin realized there was no escape, and nodded glumly. The group walked into the room, each sitting in various places. Rin sat on his own bed.

"So, Rin, what happened the night Father died?" Yukio asked. Rin took a deep breathe.

"I guess I should start with the day before..."

And Rin started explaining. (**AN: for anyone who watched the anime, I'm using the manga for this. I wasn't totally clear on which I was using. In the manga things in the days before True Cross and Shiro's death are a little different than in the anime, but it's not like they're completely different. Just remember that if you get confused**)

"I was on my way to a job interview for some job at the shopping mall near where we lived." He started, before he was interupted

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shima asked

"Please hold your questions until the end of the story" he said, imitating a teacher. "it's relevant, I'm just getting there. Anyway, I was on my way to the interview when I ran into these guys I had..." he stopped. He forgot that these guys didn't know he used to get into fights a lot. His voice quieted a little as he finished the sentence "I had fought with before. The head one, Reiji Shiratori, asked to speak with me. I noticed he had horns and a tail, but I figured he was, I dunno, doing cosplay or something." He said

"Wait... fought with?" Ryuji asked.

"Cosplay? Didn't you know he was like, a demon?" Izumo asked. Rin just nervously laughed.

"I used to, ummm..." he tried to explain, but he was spared having to when Yukio cut in.

"Nii-san used to get into fights a lot. Also, at that time, he didn't know about demons"

"But... you're..." Konekomaru tried to put a sentence together, but failed and so said "Nevermind, keep going"

"Yeah, well, Shiratori informed me that he was going to go to True Cross, and he didn't want any 'unsavory rumors'" he said, with air quotes, "spreading about him getting into fights, and losing, spreading around. Since Yukio was going, and he was my brother and all, well... Anyway, he..." Rin didn't want to say how Shiratori had insulted Yukio and that's how he had managed to piss him off, so he just said "...he and I started yelling at each other, and one thing led to another and then before I knew it I was pinned to the ground by his friends and he had a knife and was offering to give me a 'haircut'" He said, air quotes on haircut. "Well, I kind of flipped the hell out and..." he trailed off.

"and what?"

"Ikindasortofmaybeburstintoflames" Rin said quickly.

"You did what?" Ryuji asked

"burst into... flames..."

"You did what?" Ryuji asked again

"Well he was gonna cut me... with a knife... so... I panicked" Rin said. Yukio was shaking his head in the background.

"But wait, I thought you said you didn't know about demons. So how did you, um, spontaneously combust?" Konekomaru asked.

"I told you. I freaked the hell out and I guess instincts just kicked in or something" he said. Nervous glances went around the room. They all silently agreed to never, _ever_ throw Rin a surprise party "Which had never happened before then" he added.

"Wait, how did you not know about demons when you have a _tail_" Izumo asked

"I didn't always have a tail"

"How does that make any sense?" Izumo asked, though it was mostly to herself.

"So did you, like, grow a tail right then when you burst into flames, or did it come out later or something?" Shima asked

"It came out later. Can I finish now?" Rin asked. The others nodded, even if they were still mildly confused.

"Well, after that the other guys he had there also panicked and fled. So it was just me and the demon-guy. Also, I was still on fire. Then he offered to take me 'home' " air quotes "to Gehenna. That's when Shiro showed up. He chanted something and the demon left the possession, and then Shiro explained very briefly that demons exist and I was the Son of Satan and what the blue fire was and then we fled and ran home"

"So then, you didn't know?" Konekomaru asked.

"Didn't know what?" Rin asked

"Who your dad is?" Konekomaru asked

"Nope. Not until that moment. Up until then I thought I was human, and that there were no such thing as demons"

There was silence, until Shima asked "And then what happened?"

* * *

_For the Record, only in the anime is the demon named Astaroth. In the manga I don't think he even gets a name..._

* * *

**Soooo finally got to the explanations and, by extension, the reactions.**

**Someone informed me the chapters all seemed to be getting shorter and shorter, and I am sorry. This one is longer though, so is that okay?**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	10. Shiro's last hours!

**DISCLAIMER: It's not mine!**

* * *

"Well... after that, like I said, we went back home to the Monastery..." Rin started. This would be hard to say. What would they think after he told them that Shiro had died because of him? "And after that he told me to..." Rin began to trail off. It still hurt to think his father had tried to kick him out, even if it was for his own safety "He told me to pack my things and... leave"

"Wait, what?" Ryuji asked "You figured it out and he gave you the boot?"

"No, it-" Rin tried to explain

"What kind of father does that?"

"He just threw you out?" A chorus of comments like those came from the group, as Rin continued to try to explain. Eventually, he just yelled loud enough for his voice to overpoower the others:

"It was becuse the Monestary wasn't safe!" The others were puzzled.

"But wasn't he the paladin?" Konekomaru asked "he should be able to stand against a few demons"

"No, he- wait, how did you know he was paladin?" Rin asked. Yukio answered it for him.

"We learned it in class Rin. Unless you weren't paying attention"

"No, I, umm..." Rin quickly thought of a way to change the subject "Well the Monestary wasn't safe anymore because the demons knew I had 'awakened' so-to-speak. There'd be tons heading for the Monestary. So he handed me my stuff and then" His hand went for his sword, which was on his back, like usual. Funny, he didn't remember grabbing it... He figured it must have been so automatic that grabbing it didn't even register anymore. He must've gotten it went he went to 'escape' earlier. "He opened a drawer with this key thing, like the ones we use to get to Cram School. It was called the 'Key of Vanishing' I think and he handed me the Kurikara and told me to never open it or else... and then he gave me his phone, and told me to leave and call the number on the phone. The person was his friend and should protect me, but then I..."

This was the part he was dreading. He didn't want to tell them about his father's death, but this is what they were here to know.

"You...?" Shima asked.

"I... got upset" Rin said. He looked down, suddenly finding the floor very interesting "I yelledd at him because I thought he didn't care about me anymore because I wasn't really human anymore. I said something I really regret and..." Rin didn't want to talk anymore. He really wished he had tested his luck jumping out the window.

"Rin?" Sheimi asked, concerned.

"and that's how Satan got in."

"What did you say?" Ryuji asked.

"What?" Rin looked up from the floor.

"What did you say to him that let Satan in?" Ryuji clarified.

"I got upset and told him that I... didn't want to see him acting like he was my dad ever again" Rin looked back at the floor again. Ryuji thought about the fight he got in with his dad at the temple, when Rin had jumped in and got in the way. He had said something similar to his own father, than Rin had told him he would regret it later.

"Then Satan took over" Rin visibly shuddered. "He broke Shiro's hand a built a Gehenna gate and tried to drag me 'home'" More shuddering. "Oh god that gate was disgusting. It was a bunch of little, slimy, black heads. And they moved and wiggled around"

"Didn't you, like, freak out?" Shima asked. Clearly, he was thinking of bugs.

"Yeah, but no one was around except me and him" he replied darkly "So no one heard me"

"But then how did you get out?" Konekomaru asked.

"Shiro. He broke the posession for a few seconds. Enough time to... Enough time to stab himself in the heart so that Satan couldn't..." he trailed off. "He said I was his son, and he was taking me back." Rin was staring at the floor, but he looked about ready to cry. "And then he fell into the gate. I thought that maybe if I destroyed it I could save him? So I..." he reached for his sword "used Kurikara. It... didn't work" his voice cracked. "When I unsheathed it, the seal broke and I really became a demon."

Rin finished his tale, saying finally "You wanted to know" and getting up and leaving "I'm making dinner" he said as he walked out, leaving Yukio and the others to think over the story they had just been told.

* * *

**So I know I took a while, but this chapter had me stumped. I'M REALLY SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG!**

**With a combination of real life and writer's block this chapter took longer to write than it should have, but it's here now so yay!**

**Almost done guys! Ooooh that's so cool!**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	11. Remind him!

**DISCLAIMER: -.../.-../..-/. ./-..-/-/.-./-.-./../.../- ../... -./-/- -/../-./. !**

**(that was International Morse Code, btw. Bet you've never seen a Disclaimer as cool as that, huh?)**

* * *

Rin liked cooking. He always had. One thing he really liked about cooking was that it was an _amazing_ stress reliever. And Rin had a lot to be stressed about.

He had wanted to take the secret of what transpired that night to the grave. But his friends and family (Satan and his sons were not counted, they weren't family) had not let this happen.

He wondered what his friends would think. Would they get scared of him again? Would they blame him, the way he blamed himself? Rin could hardly bear to think of them hating him again, right after they had all just made up. That pain was something that he wanted to forget. But they were undoubtedly about to remind him.

* * *

Yukio had had some sort of an idea of what had happened that night. He had seen the aftermath, after all. He hadn't known the bit about the gate before, though. He briefly remembered his fight with his brother at the cram school. That, he realized now, had probably hurt Nii-san a lot more than he had let on. Of course, he didn't mean any of it. He had just been upset, and he was unfairly letting all his anger out on his brother. He thinks now that it probably wasn't the best thing he could have done. The whole reason Yukio had become an exorcist was to protect his brother. He wasn't exactly doing the best job. He wondered if Rin still believed what he had said then. Due to that Culpa Demon, he probably did. But Yukio hadn't meant any of that. Yukio realized he needed to tell Rin that he didn't mean any of it. They were brothers, after all. Someone just needed to remind him.

* * *

Ryuji remembered everything he had yelled at the older Okumura when he was mad at him for keeping secrets. Certain ones kept coming back to him, over and over.

_"Those flames can kill people!" _

He had said that on the bus to Kyoto. He just discovered Rin knew that better than he had ever realized.

_"I'll never acknoledge you as my father, not till the day I die!"_

That one had been directed at his father, but then Rin had stepped in. He had told him he should take it back, or else he'd regret it. Ryuji didn't think Rin had any idea what he was talking about, but clearly he did. He knew exactly what he had been talking about. It had been the last thing he'd ever really said to his own father.

Ryuji had never liked secrets. He had never liked when someone tried to carry their burdens and keep them to themselves. He hated that more than anything else. And Rin seemed to keep his burdens to himself all the time.

_"Don't try to do everything yourself. Don't forget you have friends!"_

Ryuji had told Rin that during the training camp, right before they had discovered he was the Son of Satan. Rin had clearly forgotten he had friends. Ryuji decided it was about time they reminded him.

* * *

Sheimi thought back to the day she had first met Rin. The first conversation they had was her calling him a demon. She knew know this had probably been a real sore spot for him at that time. She also thought back to how he had helped her stop being guilty over Granny's death. He had always seemed so strong. That facade was crumbling, and the roles were reversed. He was the weak one, feeling guilty over something that was out of his control. So now she would have to be the strong one and remind him that it wasn't his fault. To remind him, the way he had reminded her.

* * *

Shima didn't think of any specific memory or conversation. What he thought of was love; Rin's greatest weakness. Love was what was putting Rin in this funk. He had loved his dad, and now he was gone. He blamed himself, because he missed his father who he loved. And while love was his greatest weakness, it was also his greatest strength. He cared about, loved, all of them, his friends. Right now, what he needed was love in return. His friends needed to go let him know that he was loved. They needed to remind him they cared.

* * *

Konekomaru thought of how scared he had been of Rin before. He had been scared of the flames that had killed his parents. The flames that had ruined their temple. The flames that belonged to a cold-blooded murderer. The flames that resided in his friend. He had thought Rin didn't understand their power, their terror. He didn't think he had known the damage and pain they could cause. What he didn't know is that Rin had experienced it all first-hand, and that he could remember it all. Konekomaru didn't even remember what had happened because he had been a baby. Rin had watched his father die in front of him only months ago. Konekomaru realized that his fear of Rin had been very misguided. Rin was his friend. Rin is his friend. And his friend was in pain. It's about time they remind him that he had people who understood the pain of losing someone to the blue flames. Remind him that he didn't have to suffer alone.

* * *

Izumo knew thought Rin was being an idiot. How was any of this his fault? Idiot, idiot, idiot. He was probably in the kitchen, moping about all of this, the idiot. Simple fact is that this wasn't Rin's fault. Rin didn't kill Shiro, Satan did. Wasn't it Rin's goal in life to kick Satan's ass? Rin was probably being such a mopey idiot with his misdirected guilt that he forgot even that. Someone needed to point out that it wasn't Rin's fault, it was Satan's. Someone also needed to remind Rin that he was supposed to avenge his father. Someone needed to remind Rin he was supposed to kick Satan's ass.

* * *

The Exwires had come to a silent agreement: Rin had forgotten a lot of things, and it was about time they reminded him. After sharing a few glances, they walked out of the room, heading for the kitchen. There were lots of things they of which he had forgotten. Things of which they need to remind him.

* * *

**Ok so let me just say: THIS CHAPTER WAS HARD TO WRITE. Like I had to ask a friend of mine how I should write a certain character (thanks Jinx-the-fire-queen for your help!), even though I know all about just about all of them. Like jeeze... **

**Anyway, there should only be about one more chapter left, and then we'll be done.**

**I'm sorry if I didn't do any character very well. I had a lot of trouble on Shima and Izumo. For Shima, I used the conversation in chapter 56 he had with Lucifer. For Izumo, I texted a friend to ask for a bit of help. Either way, I really hope I did well! Let me know what you guys thought, okay?**

**- Lew-chan :D**


	12. Friends are the family you choose!

**Disclaimer: IA WNOA OTHINGNA (Pig Latin this time!)**

* * *

When they walked into the room, Rin prepared for the worst. He expected them to be mad, or scared, or... something. What he didn't expect was for Sheimi to come right up and hug him.

"It wasn't your fault, Rin" she said. He looked around at the others, obviously confused.

"She's right, ya know" Ryuji said, as Sheimi let Rin out of her hug.

"I..."

"Nii-san, none of that was your fault" Yukio said.

"But... You said..." Rin protested.

"I didn't mean any of that. I was just... upset" Yukio said, looking down. A few of the others shot him a confused look. They decided, though, that they had already intruded on the Okumura's privacy enough for one day and left whatever Yukio had said to stay a secret between brothers.

"But he's dead, and he died because of me. You said it yourself" Rin said.

"But did you forget what _you_ said?" Yukio asked.

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to be strong. That you were going to defeat Satan so no one else would die because of you. You can't do that if your sitting here, feeling sorry for youself"

"That's a little harsh, Yukio" Shima muttered.

"And Rin" Ryuji said. He walked over and hit Rin over the head.

"Owww! Hey! What was that for?"

"What did I tell you at the training camp?" he asked.

"You-"

"I said we are your _friends_, Rin, and that you don't have to do everything by yourself"

"Then why'd you hit me?" Rin asked. Ryuji hit Rin over the head again.

"'Cuz I _also_ told you not to forget it! And you keep forgetting!" he yelled. "This is like, the _third_ time! How many times do I gotta say it?"

"And Rin, you're not alone in this" Konekomaru said. "If you forgot, our temple was attacked by Satan. We all lost relatives that night. We understand how it feels to lose someone to Satan"

Rin was starting to feel warm inside. This really wasn't what he had been expecting. Not that he was complaining.

"We're here for you, Rin!" Sheimi said "After all, would Shiro have wanted you to beat yourself up over what happened?" she asked, paraphrasing what Rin had said to her about her Granny.

"He..." Rin said "No, he wouldn't have"

"Exactly. No one blames you, you idiot. No one but yourself" Izumo said

"Rin, we all know it wasn't your fault" Sheimi said. The others all nodded. Many "We're you friends" and "We're here for you" 's were said. Rin just needed a shoulder to cry on, and they were all offering theirs. Rin finally smiled.

"T-thanks, guys" he said. He was smiling, but he could feel tears building up "I..." he tried to make a sentence, but couldn't put what he wanted to say into words. Tears started rolling down his face "Thank you, guys"

"No problem. That's what friends are for!" Sheimi said.

"And don't forget it this time" Ryuji added. Shima and Konekomaru nodded and smiled in agreement, and Izumo looked less cold than usual. Yukio's face still seemed impassive as ever, but he was smiling, just barely noticeable unless you knew him well enough. And Rin was smiling, crying and smiling. "Thanks guys" he said again. The moment was interupted when the stove beeped behind him, reminding him of what he was doing before they walked in. "Oh! G-guys!" He said, sniffling. "I was making something before you c-came in. Do you want some of it?" A choir of "yes" 's came from the group.

"What are you making?" Sheimi asked. Rin smiled wider.

"Sukiyaki!"

The rest of the day, and eventually night, was spent with fun, games and laughter as Rin had snapped out of his bout of depression and was back to being himself. They all stayed up late, exchanging stories from their childhoods, like Rin's first crush and how the Kyoto trio used to steal cucumbers from the garden. It ended up getting so late that everyone ended up staying over for the night (Sheimi's mother flipped out when she didn't come home that night. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere except school and missions for weeks). Everyone was pretty much asleep on their feet the next day. Rin ended up failing a test in math, but it didn't matter to him. He had friends who would always support him, through thick and thin. Maybe Ryuji could help him study for his next test? Rin has friends he can rely on, and this time he won't forget.

* * *

_**Friends are the family you choose.**_

* * *

**Aaaaaaaand I'm done! My story is done! Wow! Please review and tell me what you guys thought! I really hope you liked it, and I'm really happy I got such a positive response from this story! At this point, I have 63 followers, 40 favorites and 45 reviews. That is 63 followers, 40 favorites and 45 reviews more than I thought I would have. I would honestly go and thank each and every one of you personally, but that would probably come across as incredibly creepy so I won't. But it's the thought that counts! I love you guys, and I really hope you liked the ending! Thank you for reading! **

**- Lew-chan :D**


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